Many people underestimate the importance of bureaucrats who runs
the whole show in the country despite the fact that Right To Information (RTI)
Act has put a checkmate all the time especially on the decision taking
authorities. Those who incessantly underestimate people definitely experience
an incident that would make them want to plead everyone to be careful when they
had been offended in life. It is our own detriment that we
underestimate the might of small and simple things.
I will never forget the incident when a very senior officer was
threatened by the influential person, with dire consequences who had come to
him, with recommendations from some political person, where I too happened to
be sitting in his chamber.
It is an admitted fact that the recommendations of political or
influential persons only come when the work is illegal and not within the
framework of rules and regulations.
The bureaucrat, a close friend of mine, sitting across the table
flatly refused with a word that he could accommodate for speed up the licence
only after completion of minimum required formalities under the rules and
regulations. Refusing to listen to what was said; the person left the chamber
uttering irrelevant words.
Later, I was told that the person is need of a heavy
vehicle licence which could only be given to person having minimum middle pass
qualification, as per the latest notification by the highest law making agency
in the country – Parliament.
It happened so that after three years, he was shifted as
ADC(Development) where sanction to number of development projects with handsome
subsidy up to 35 percent is within his competency. Unfortunately,
again I happen to be sitting in his office when the same person with an
application for installing of a project on his agriculture land entered the
room. Without uttering a word and reminding him what he has done
with him when he had come to him earlier, he asked him to sit
down. After examining the documents, he said, gentleman, I have
enquired about you and you have a vision and means also. If you really want to
do start some production unit and generate employment in the area, with additional
financial help from the bank, I can get you the loan for starting the same but
without subsidy. In fact, yo just want to encash the handsome
subsidy amount only.
He just picked up the red pen from the pen-stand lying on his
table and boldly wrote on the face of the application, ‘sanction loan but
without subsidy’.
This time, the person left the office, without uttering a single
word, perhaps he understood that do not underestimate the power of a person
sitting across the table.
Frankly speaking, the people may think that most leaders can do
anything in five years but fact is that one should never underestimate what
bureaucrats can do by taking a decision, in a fraction of second.
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